高考英语外刊精读人与社会：狗狗可以闻到人类“压力”的气味准确率高达90%
一、文本泛读
Whether it’s a tricky maths problem or an unexpected bill, daily life is full of stressful experiences. Now researchers have found that humans produce a different odour when under pressure – and dogs can sniff it out. While previous studies have suggested canines might pick up on human emotions, possibly through smell, questions remained over whether they could detect stress and if this could be done through scent.
Wilson added the findings could prove useful when training service dogs, such as those that support people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They’re often trained to look at someone either crouching down on the floor, or starting to do self-injurious behaviours,” said Wilson. The latest study, she said, offers another potential cue. “There is definitely a smell component, and that might be valuable in the training of these dogs in addition to all of the visual stuff,” said Wilson.
The researchers report they were able to train four dogs to indicate the container holding a particular breath and sweat sample, even when the line-up included unused gauze, samples from another person, or samples from the same person taken at a different time of day. With the team confident the dogs understood the approach, they turned to breath and sweat samples collected from 36 people asked to count backwards from 9,000 in units of 17. The participants reported feeling stressed by the task and, for the 27 who carried it out in the laboratory, their blood pressure and heart rate rose.
The dogs were taught to pick out samples taken just after the task from a line-up that included two containers holding unused gauze. The researchers then tested whether the dogs could do the same when the line-up included not only unused gauze but samples taken from the same participant just before the task, when they were more relaxed. Each set of samples was shown to a single dog in 20 trials.
The results reveal that the dogs chose the “stressed” sample in 675 out of the 720 trials. “It was pretty amazing to see them be so confident in telling me ‘nope, these two things definitely smell different’,” said Wilson. The team say while it was unclear what chemicals the dogs were picking up on, the study shows humans produce a different odour when stressed — confirming previous research that used instruments to analyse samples.
节选自The Guardian
二、文本精读
Whether it’s a tricky maths problem or an unexpected bill, daily life is full of stressful experiences. Now researchers have found that humans produce a different odour when under pressure – and dogs can sniff it out. While previous studies have suggested canines might pick up on human emotions, possibly through smell, questions remained over whether they could detect stress and if this could be done through scent.
tricky adj. 难办的，难对付的；狡猾的，诡计多端的
an unexpected bill 表面意思是“意外出现的账单”，文中指“意外出现的压力”
odour n. （尤指难闻的）气味，臭味
sniff out 嗅出；看出，觉察出
canine n. 犬
pick up on 领略，意会，意识到
scent n. （人的）气味，气息；香味
【长难句分析】
While previous studies have suggested canines might pick up on human emotions, possibly through smell, questions remained over whether they could detect stress and if this could be done through scent.
分析：While...through smell是while引导的让步状语从句，whether和if引导宾语从句分别作介词over的宾语。
译文：尽管之前的研究表明，狗狗或许能通过嗅觉感知人类的情绪，但是狗狗是否能感知人类的压力，以及能否通过气味识别压力，尚未可知。
Wilson added the findings could prove useful when training service dogs, such as those that support people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They’re often trained to look at someone either crouching down on the floor, or starting to do self-injurious behaviours,” said Wilson. The latest study, she said, offers another potential cue. “There is definitely a smell component, and that might be valuable in the training of these dogs in addition to all of the visual stuff,” said Wilson.
add v. 补充说，继续说
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 创伤后应激障碍
crouch down 蹲下，蹲伏
component n. 成分，部分，组成部分
The researchers report they were able to train four dogs to indicate the container holding a particular breath and sweat sample, even when the line-up included unused gauze, samples from another person, or samples from the same person taken at a different time of day. With the team confident the dogs understood the approach, they turned to breath and sweat samples collected from 36 people asked to count backwards from 9,000 in units of 17. The participants reported feeling stressed by the task and, for the 27 who carried it out in the laboratory, their blood pressure and heart rate rose.
container n. 容器
line-up 一排，一队
gauze n. 纱布；网纱，网
【长难句分析】
With the team confident the dogs understood the approach, they turned to breath and sweat samples collected from 36 people asked to count backwards from 9,000 in units of 17.
分析：With the team confident the dogs understood the approach是“with+n.+adj.”的with复合结构，confident后省略了that；collected是过去分词作samples的后置定语，asked是过去分词作people的后置定语。
译文：研究团队肯定狗狗能理解这种方法，他们开始使用从36人身上收集的口气和汗水样本，实验对象被要求以17为一单位，从9000开始倒数。
The dogs were taught to pick out samples taken just after the task from a line-up that included two containers holding unused gauze. The researchers then tested whether the dogs could do the same when the line-up included not only unused gauze but samples taken from the same participant just before the task, when they were more relaxed. Each set of samples was shown to a single dog in 20 trials.
pick out 认出来，辨别出；精心挑选
unused adj. 未用过的，没用着的，闲着的
trial n. 试验，试用
The results reveal that the dogs chose the “stressed” sample in 675 out of the 720 trials. “It was pretty amazing to see them be so confident in telling me ‘nope, these two things definitely smell different’,” said Wilson. The team say while it was unclear what chemicals the dogs were picking up on, the study shows humans produce a different odour when stressed — confirming previous research that used instruments to analyse samples.
reveal v. 揭示，显示，透露
pretty adv. 颇，相当
【长难句分析】
The team say while it was unclear what chemicals the dogs were picking up on, the study shows humans produce a different odour when stressed — confirming previous research that used instruments to analyse samples.
分析：本句的主干是The team say...，后面是省略了that的宾语从句，全部是研究团队说的内容；while引导让步状语从句；when stressed中间省略了they (humans) are；confirming...to analyse samples是现在分词短语作结果状语。
译文：研究团队表示，虽然尚不清楚狗狗闻到的是什么化学物质，但研究表明，人类感到压力时可以产生不同的气味，这证实了之前使用仪器分析样本的研究。
三、读后练习——单句语法填空
1. Whether it’s a tricky maths problem an unexpected bill, (day) life is full of stressful experiences.
2. Wilson added the findings could prove (use) when training service dogs...
3. With the team (confidence) the dogs understood the approach, they turned to breath and sweat samples (collect) from 36 people asked to count backwards from 9,000 in units of 17.
4. The team say while it was unclear chemicals the dogs were picking up on, the study shows humans produce a different odour when (stress) — (confirm) previous research that used instruments to analyse samples.
【参考答案】
1. or; daily
2. useful
3. confident; collected
4. what; stressed; confirming
